Hood latch



A ril 25, 1933. 5. DE. oRLow HOOD LATCH Filed Feb. 15, 1952 Patented Apr. 25, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE STEPHEN DE ORLOW, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO TERNSTEDT MANUFAC- TURING COMPANY, OF DETROIT, MIGHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF MICHIGAN HOOD LATCH Applicationfiled February 15,1932. Serial No. 592,994.

This invention relates to improvements in hood latches for the hoods of vehicles.

The improvements relate particularly to the Operating mechanism which is applied to a single rod positioned interiorly of the hood and having its ends adapted to engage holding members or keepers secured to the dash and radiator shell of the vehicle. In. one species of the invention the latching rod has a crank formed thereon intermediate its ends on which there is pivoted a link, the other end of which is pivoted to one arm of an operating handle or lever. The lever has a slot intermediate its ends in which there is received a pin secured in a bracket rigidly secured to theinterior of the hood. In its latchedposition, the link is held in a substantially vertical position with the pin in the slot end nearest the hood. The handle or lever at the opposite end of the slot or the side farthest away fromthe hood has a wedg-ingportion or cam whichpresses against ashelf formed on the bracket rigidly to hold the partsin locked position. In the locked or latched position, the wedge portion of the lever is out of, alignment with the line joining the pivotal axes of the link so that .an off-center connectionis formed which rigidly retains theparts in locked position. i

In thepreferred form .of theinvention the operating lever has no .slot but is pivotally connected :to the bracket. In this species the pivotof'the lever isout of alignment with the line joining the pivotal axes of the links, thus .formingan off-center or over-throw connection which rigidly holds the parts in locked position.

911 the drawing: I

Figure 1 shows a side view of a portion of .a vehicle with the invention applied.

Figure 2'is asectiontaken-substantially on the [line 2-2 of Figure .1, the full lines indi- .cating the locked and the dotted lines the unlocked position.

Figure 3 is a view on the line 33 of Figure 2.

Figures 4 :and 5 are views similar to Figures2 and 3 of the preferred form.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral 2 indicates a vehicle as a whole. The Vehicle has theusual cowl 4, radiator shell 6 and hood 8 hinged as at 10. The hood has a latching mechanism indicated as a whole at12 applied to the bottom thereof rigidly. to hold the hood in its down position.

The latching mechanism includes the latching rod 14 having its ends 16-bent at an angle and adapted to engage the holding members or keepers 18 secured to the radiator shell 6 and to the dash 20. Suitable brackets ,22 secured to the hood near the ends 16 permanently mountthelatching rod 14. The latching rod 14 is p'rovided witha crank 24 intermediate its length preferably at its anid portion, the rod being ournaled .at the -.op;po-

site sides of the crank in an inverted V bracket 26 rigidly secured to the hood'by means of the rivets .28.

The bracket 26 .has an inclined shelf 30 formed intermediate its ends and preferably positioned at the apex of the V portion .of the bracket. The shelf .30 is formed by bending the metal on itself as indicated Figures 2 and 3. i

A link82 is pivoted at .one end .34 tothe crank 24 and at its opposite end 36 .to-an arm 38 of an operating handle-or lever 40. 'Thehandle 40 has ;a slot 42 intermediate its ends and in the slot there is received :theepin 44rig'idrly mounted on the bracket 26 above the shelf 30. The pin 44 and slot 42 fOrma shifting pivotal connection for the handle .40. The operating handle 40extendsthrough an opening 46 to the outside of the'hood and is provided with ahook end 48. The handle 40 jhasaproj ectingor wedge portion 50 which isadapted to engage theshel-f30with a .wedging action ,(as shown in Figure 2) when the parts are in'latched position. i 1

As best shown in Figure 3, the link 32 is provided with a suitableopening 47 toallow clearance between the link and. theshelf, and an extension 48 of the opening 47 allows clearance for the arm 38 of the lever or operating handle 40. I

The full line position of the parts in Figure 2 shows the locked. or latched position of the latchingmeans. From an examination of the figure, it will be noted that the line joining the axes or turning points 51 and52 of the link 32 is out of alignment with the point or line of contact of the cam 50 with the shelf, and the pin li is at the extreme left hand end of the slot -12. This will give an off-center or overthrow connection and the line of action or pull downward will be through the axes 51 and 52 which will be resisted by the force acting upward through the Wedge or cam 50 and to hold the parts rigidly in position. In this position, the projecting or cam portion 50 will be wedged tightly against the shelf 30, and any downward pull on the link 32, such as will be offered by a raising of the hood, will be re sisted by the lever l0 because of the engagement of the cam 50 with the shelf 30. If it is desired to raise the hood, the handle 48 is pulled so that the slot is moved over the pin until the pin reaches the extreme right hand end thereof. The cam 50 now is to the left of the line joining the pivotal axes of the link and there is substantially no resistance and a further upward movement of the handle will swing the link and crank to the dotted line position of Figure 2 to turn the angle end 16 away from the keepers 18 and enable the raising of the hood. To look the hood the parts are returned from the dotted line position in Figure 2, to the full line position.

Referring to the preferred species of Figures f and 5, a modified form of hooked end 16 is used. The brackets 2-2' are used to mount the bent over ends 16a of the latching rod 1d while the portions 16 of the ends 16 engage with the holding members or keepers 18.

The locking rod 14 has the crank 2st intermediate its length, preferably at its mid portion, and is mounted in the bracket 26 at the two sides of the crank. The bracket 26' is secured to the hood 8 by means of the rivets 28. The bracket has the shelf 30 at its mid portion and a pin 44' passes therethrough and pivotally mounts the operating handle or lever 40'. A link 32 is connected to the crank 2% at 34 and to the end 36 of the arm 38 of the lever 40 and has its central portion looping or straddling the shelf or saddle 30'.

By referring to Figure at, it will be noted that the shelf 80 is considerably inclined and the lever 40 has a portion 60 which fits flush thereagainst when the parts are in locked position or the position shown in Figure 4. A stop shoulder 62 on the arms 38' engages a stop shoulder 6st on the saddle 30 to limit the throw of the handle 40.

In Figure 4 it will be noted that the line connecting the pivotal point 50 with the point of connection 34: at the crank 24' is out of alignment with the pivotal point 44' of the lever 40 with the bracket 26. There is, therefore, an over-throw or off-center connection or interrelation and it will be noted that the link 32 is thrown to the right of the.

pivot pin 44.. This off-center connection will rigidly hold the parts in position and prevent their accidental displacement and any raising of the hood will cause the link to swing further to the off-center position to bind the mechanism.

To unlock the hood, the operator raises the handle 40 which will swing the pivot 50 to the right (Figure 4) and swing the link 32 in a downward and inward direction to cause the crank 24 to rotate the locking bar 14 and swing the part 16 away from the keepers 18. To look the hood, the handle i0 is moved downward to swing the arm 38' upward which carries therewith the link 32 and swings the crank 24: to the position shown in Figure at. Shortly before the link 32 reaches the pin let, there will be a binding action and a further movement will require a greater application of force and will tension all of the parts and give a binding action so that when the parts are in the position shown in Figure 4 the latched parts will be rigidly held in position.

I claim:

1. In a latch for the hoods of vehicles having holding means permanently secured thereto at spaced apart points and latching means on the hood and adapted to engage with or become disengaged from the holding means, said latching means having a crank intermediate its length, operating means secured to the hood and engaging the said crank, said operating means comprising a bracket rigidly secured to the hood, a shelf on the bracket, a vertically reciprocable lever mounted on the bracket, said lever having a portion lying on said shelf rigidly to hold the parts when in latched position, and a link secured to the lever and to the crank, the raising of said lever causing the link to swing inwardly and downwardly to turn the crank to cause the latching means to become disengaged from the holding means.

2. In a latch for the hoods of vehicles having permanently secured thereto means for engagement by the ends of a latching rod extending longitudinally of the hood, said rod having a crank thereon intermediate its length, a link secured to the crank, a lever pivoted to the link, a bracket on the hood, said lever having a pin and slot connection with the bracket, the pin of said connection being at one end of the slot when the parts are in latched position, and a cam on said lever engaging the bracket when the hood is latched, the line of contact of the cam being out of alignment with the pivots of the link forming an off-center connection rigidly to hold the parts in latched position, the movement of said lever to position the pin at the opposite end of the slot breaking the offcenter connection.

3. In a latch for the hoods of vehicles having permanently secured thereto means for ver on said bracket, said pin being out of alignment with the pivots of the link to form an off-center connection rigidly to hold the parts in latched position, the said lever having a part engaging the bracket to wedge the latching mechanism tightly together when the parts are in latched position.

at. In a latch for the hoods of vehicles hav ing permanently secured thereto means for engagement by the ends of a latching rod extending longitudinally of the hood, said rod having a crank thereon intermediate its length, a link secured to the crank, a vertically reciprocable lever pivoted to the link, a bracket on the hood, a pin mounting said lever on said bracket, said pin being out of alignment with the pivots of the link to form an ofi-center connection rigidly to hold the parts in latched position, the said lever having a partengaging the bracket to limit the throw of the lever when the parts are in latched position, the raising of said lever causing the removal of said part from the bracket and the breaking of said off-center connection, said raising movement also swinging the link to move the crank to operate the rod to release the latching mechanism.

5. In a vehicle hood latch having a latching rod for engagement with keepers permanently mounted on the vehicle, a crank 011 the rod, a bracket mounted on the hood adjacent the crank, a vertically reciprocable operating handle mounted on the bracket by a shiftable pivotal connection, said handle including a. portion within and a portion without the hood, the reciprocation of said handle causing a change in the location of the pivot rela tive to the handle, and a link pivotally connected to said portion within the hood and to said crank, the shiftable pivot of said handle with said bracket being out of alignment with the pivots of said link when the parts are in latched position to form an offcenter connection rigidly to hold the parts against displacement.

6. In a vehicle hood latch having a latching rod for engagement with keepers permanently mounted on the vehicle, a crank on the rod, a bracket mounted on the hood adjacent the crank, a vertically reciprocable operating handle, a pin and slot connection pivotally to mount the handle on the bracket, said handle including a portion within and a portion without the hood, shoulders on said handle and bracket to limit the movement of said handle, and a link pivotally connected to said portion Within the hood and to said crank, the pivot of said handle with said bracket shifting its position and being out of align ment with the pivots of said link when the parts are in latched position to form an 0&- center connection rigidly to hold the parts against displacement.

In testimony whereof I afilx my si ature.

STEPHEN DE OR OW. 

